characteristic of the Cottonian MS. is the appearance in the miniatures of impersonations of such ideas as the Seven Days of Creation, and the Four Rivers of the Garden; the former being represented as seven angels, and the latter as four reclining figures with urns. The Soul breathed into man is depicted in the form of a winged Psyche. The Creator is shewn as Christ, "by Whom all things were made."
Another famous book of Genesis at Vienna, having pictures painted below the text on pages of purple vellum, is almost certainly later than the Cottonian book, and although there are obviously some links between them, the Vienna designs seem to stand outside the Alexandrian circle. Two other books on purple, which have much in common with the Vienna book, are the codices of Rossano and Sinope. All three may probably be dated about A.D. 500, and may have been painted at Constantinople. The magnificent Dioscorides, which is dated c. 512, is almost certainly an Alexandrian book. Its fine, clear drawings of plants may be copied from a more classical original. The Joshua Roll of the Vatican is probably sixth century and of Alexandrian origin.
Several of the mosaics at Ravenna have characteristics similar to the miniatures in these Egyptian books, and it may be regarded as certain that it was not only at St Mark's, Venice, that the designs for mosaics were taken from such sources. Indeed, it must be more and more recognised that such compositions were very often drawn out of authorities almost as fixed as the texts which they illustrated. All religious art, and Byzantine art especially, has in a large degree been the handing on of a tradition. The outlines of these iconographical schemes must have been suggested by theologians[1]. They were certainly not the result of a free play of artistic fancy.
A number of figured textiles which have been found in Egypt are also very interesting in regard to the treatment of their subjects. Some are merely painted or dyed and others are woven and embroidered. Three pieces of the dyed work in the Victoria and Albert Museum have designs of the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Miracles of Christ. These, again, are interesting as giving us versions of well-known types of the subjects, and suggest that these designs also had their character impressed upon them in Egypt. For instance, they closely resemble others found on the ivory throne at Ravenna, and this similarity reinforces the argument in favour of that famous work having been made in Alexandria, which was the great mart for objects in carved ivory[2].
A favourite scheme of ornamentation on the Christian textiles found in Egypt is the imitation of jewelling. Especially is this the case with the Cross; and the jewelled cross, which appears again and again in the mosaics of Rome, Ravenna and Constantinople, would also seem to have been an Egyptian invention. Recently many wall-paintings have been
